Occupy/Independent Film Discussion at SXSW

[Marty Lang]

Hello,

My name is Marty Lang, and I'm a filmmaker from Broad Brook,
Connecticut. I'm working on a proposal for a discussion at South by
Southwest next March, that would talk about how the independent film
world can learn lessons from the Occupy movement as they try and work
toward a sustainable future. I attend Occupy New Haven meetings, and I
went to the National Gathering in July, as well as being a filmmaker.
Would anyone from the Facilitation working group be interested in speaking
on this panel with me? I'd love to involve Occupy Austin working
groups as much as possible for this event. Let me know, and let me
know if you have any questions, when you get a chance. Thanks!

--
Marty Lang
http://martylang.com
http://risingstarmovie.com
http://twitter.com/marty_lang
860.655.0357 cell

[Nolan Darilek]

Might I suggest avoiding SXSW entirely and participating in our own OA
alternative instead? SXSW insulates a whole lot of cool discussion and
knowledge exchange behind a multi-hundred-dollar price tag which
embodies everything we're fighting against. IMHO, Occupy and related
events should be available to everyone, not just a bunch of tourists who
can afford the badge.

[Joe Cooper]

Why not both?

I agree with you, Nolan, that SXSW is an irredeemably corporate adfest of epic proportions, selling every inch of our beautiful city to the highest bidder; I don't know if reaching that crowd is such a bad thing (which is why we did OccupySouthby this year, and will do it again next, BTW). But, lacking corporate millions, we only reached a few dozen people except during our party marches on 6th St., our collaboration with Tom Morello, and the partnership march/concert with Million Musicians March for Peace.

[Nolan Darilek]

I suppose both could work too, but I was bothered by how some only partook in SXSW and not our own event. I would have liked to see one or two of those panels, too. I know it wasn't necessarily a choice they knew they had, but I'd like to encourage Occupy participants to prioritize our event over SXSW at the very least.

[Bishop Zareh]

I concur with other people's responses.

That said, I too have proposed a panel presentation:
http://panelpicker.sxsw.com/vote/4253

There are several things you can do to make your panel Occupy-friendly:

1. Reach out to Occupy Austin, as you just did.
2. To recruit local activist-y speakers, you could send a description of the panel to this and other OA lists.
3. Definitely work with OA to schedule a second free meetup of your panelists outside of SXSW, preferably at an OccupySouthby events.
4. Advertise your event within SXSW as an activist-friendly panel. This will both promote better presenters and better audience.

That;s my .02, and vote for my Glitch panel if you can,
Best luck,
Bishop